A children's play gym usually comprises a cross beam supported horizontally above the ground by A-frames connected by various types of brackets and braces to the opposite ends of the cross beam. Swings and other rides are suspended from the cross beam. Typically, all of the major components of the play gym, including the cross beam, the legs comprising the A-frames and the hardware for assembling those parts are made of metal. However, there is also a strong demand for play equipment of this type whose cross beams and legs consist of wood planks or timbers. These wood members give the play gym an especially strong and stable overall appearance which is important to and appreciated by some consumers.
In order to minimize shipping costs, manufacturers usually sell such wood gym sets in the form of a kit having all of the parts required for the play gym except the wood components thereof. It is left to the purchaser of the kit to acquire the wood members from a local lumber yard. These wood members usually include two 4.times.4 lengths of lumber to form each A-frame of the gym set and either a long 4.times.4 or two parallel 2.times.6 boards to form the cross beam depending upon the length of the cross beam. If the cross beam is especially long, it may also be supported by a third A-frame positioned midway along the cross beam.
Although wood play gyms look very strong and sturdy, it is a fact that play gyms with wood cross beams are not as strong as those with a tubular metal cross beam. Therefore, there is a demand for a play gym having a tubular metal cross beam for strength and A-frames of wood to give the gym set the rustic, rugged appearance prized by some consumers. The trouble is that the existing hardware for connecting wooden A-frames to a tubular metal cross beam is quite different from that used to secure those A-flames to a wooden cross beam. This is due not only to the different materials involved, but also to the different problems involved in mating flat and curved surfaces. As a result, manufacturers are required to supply different hardware kits for assembling those different types of play gyms. Obviously, the cost involved in handling and inventorying these different parts with similar functions increases the overall cost of such gym sets and kits.